Alarm bell is ringing for Greece’ social security funds. Arrears have reach €17 billion, in the third quarter of 2016 alone, debt rose to another 300 million euros. Unable to pay, debtors abandon also the arrangements they have made with the funds in order to pay their debts in installments. The payment of pensions is at high risk if debts in social security funds continue growing at this pace.
According to a report published by the Center for the Collection of Social Security Contributions, the number of debtors owing more than €5,000 to social security funds is 316,866.
The current balance of debt is changing daily as the debts are being charged with additional charges or are increased due to new due payments
122,319 (40% of ) debtors have debts up to €15,000
195,756 (64% of) debtors owe €30,000 each
61,040 debtors owe €50.000 – €100.000
1,117 debtors owe more than 1 million euros each
It is worth noting that more and more debtors do not meet their obligations (payment of debt in 12 or 100 installments) as they cannot afford to pay even the running installment.
The CCSSC warns that if the situation continues in the same dramatic pace, “there will be a serious risk for the pensions and the pensions system.”
The CCSSC report refers to both the IKA – the Social Security Fund for Employees in private sector- and the OAEE- the social security fund for self-employed and freelancers.
In the time January – September 2016, OAEE has already received 835 million euros from the state budget and will need another 270-300 million euros until the end of the year.
IKA has received 1.860 billion euros and will need another 250 million until the end of the year.
Website Newreport.gr stresses that OAEE’s revenues are about to collapse due to stifling liquidity conditions in the real economy and the explosion of the overdue contributions. OAEE’s collectibility has to rise to 85% from 52% nowadays if the fund has to avoid the total collapse..
As for IKA, “the situation might not be as dramatic as in OAEE, however, the high unemployment that goes hand in hand with part-time jobs and low wages lead inexorably to reduced revenues.”
The International Monetary Fund wants a further cut for pensions and lower replacement rates than those implemented by Labor Minister Giorgos Katorugalos in the latest pension reform, a couple of months ago.
In order to avoid cuts in main pensions, the Greek Labor Minister proceeded to cuts in the supplementary pensions given by all social security funds, whether private or public sector.
And yet, the retired civil servants still receive high pensions than given in the private sector.
When part-time contracts are almost 50% and many employers hire personnel on the minimum wage of 580 euro per month gross, one should try to guess how many current employees are needed to pay the monthly pension of 700-1000 euro.
Equation to this problem is not possible. It is the same impossible to live on 490 euro net per month or on a pension of more or less the same level.
The only solution lies in job creations and descent wages.
Anything else are merely training exercises in a room full of apprentices and aspiring accountants.
The ‘nation’ is dead in the water.
The smart ones jumped ship a long time ago….and I mean over the past century.
What remains are the elderly that created the wealth and living as retirees and their useless offspring that sponge off grandmas pension.
The only goal for the unemployed in Greece is to become a DJ or a ‘Star.’ There are no factories, universities or anything to keep people around. Even the refugees figured that they have made a mistake and are horrified with the prospects of being stuck in Greece.
The idiot Tsipras is doing his best to drive the final nail into the coffin and bury Greece ASAP. He is a punk kid living in the Hell Hole that is Afens Greece. Where do Greeks get such wankers?
Shlomo
Ela, enough.
Typical Greek response.
another typical Greek response: go build your sand castles in another beach
Harsh, but fair. Most of the ‘rich Greek’ parents have sent their kids abroad anyway to study, and so far not many of them have come back home. They don’t want to work for 500 euros a month so they stay abroad.
The Super rich Greeks I see in GR that own like 50 properties, well they are still ok but are complaining because the rents are always falling. They still have enough money to drink coffee though, and Greece does keep on getting cheaper.
what??? you have access to private data of super rich?
No I personally know many of them = )
The EU must give back the billions it has stolen from pensions via hair-cut